Schemes lead to charges against 24, some mobsters, officials say

By Anthony M. DeStefano anthony.destefano@newsday.com

Twenty-four men, several with
reputed links to some New York Mafia families, were charged with running
numerous schemes, including the diversion of marijuana legally grown in
California and clandestinely sold in the city and on Long Island, officials
said late Tuesday.

The two-year probe, run by the
NYPD, the Waterfront Commission and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office,
led to arrests for oxycodone distribution, gambling and tax fraud, in addition
to the marijuana smuggling, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the law
enforcement agencies.

Police estimated the suspects
pulled in close to $20 million in profits over 24 months from the various
schemes, an NYPD official said.

Among those charged are Michael
Paradiso, 74, of Staten Island, a reputed captain in the Gambino crime family,
as well as reputed Gambino associate William Oliva, 55, of Brooklyn, said the
official. Officials said they played a role in distributing the marijuana.

Also arrested were Richard Sinde,
51, of New Jersey, a reputed Bonanno crime family associate and Lawrence Dentico,
33, of California, whose grandfather is a Genovese crime family captain, police
said.

In all, members or associates
from four of the five Cosa Nostra families in New York City were involved in
some aspects, which police called unique.

According to law enforcement
officials, Sinde and John Kelly, 52, of Sacramento, California, were
ringleaders of the marijuana operation that coordinated and shipped hundreds of
pounds of the plant from legal growers in Northern California’s “emerald
triangle.” The growers were able to legally harvest the marijuana for their own
prescription use but overgrew the crop and diverted some to the ring,
prosecutors charged. Barry Sussman, 56, of Rutherford, New Jersey, was also
charged and allegedly allowed the ring to unpack the marijuana at his Long
Island warehouse.

The marijuana was sold here under
such brand names as “Pineapple Haze,” “Girl Scout Cookies” and “Blue Dreams,”
NYPD Insp. John Denisopolous said.